SHOULD JUVENILES BE CHARGED AS ADULTS IN CRIMINAL CASES TRINA LEVESQUE POST UNIVERSITY Abstract In 1984 in Butte Mt, two boys (boys simply because of their age) Michael Horvath age 15 and Ted Gibson age 14, committed some unspeakable acts. Michael and Ted had brutally taken the lives of their mothers as well as the life of Ted’s 16 year old sister. These two were sentenced to a juvenile detention facility until the age of 21, after which their juvenile records were sealed and they were able to go on with their lives as if it never happened. I feel that justice was not served for the victims. After this heinous act the laws of MT were swiftly changed to charge juveniles as adults if they commit an adult crime.
Should Youthful Offenders Be Tried As Adults? Ervin Frankli March 28, 2012 SWK 501: Policy II Alabama A&M University History of Juvenile Justice System: “Many people believe juvenile courts were invented to "go easy" on young criminals. The actual reasons are more complicated. The 19th Century reformers who advocated the establishment of juvenile courts were just as interested in crime control as they were in social work. Admittedly, some reformers were motivated by a desire to save growing numbers of poor and homeless children from the streets of America’s cities.
Walter tries to push forward the question “Should youth be trialled as adults?” to make the audience consider whether it is correct to hold minors in an adult prison and fact is that the USA Justice System incarcerates more youth than any other country in the world. This was found on (eji.org.eji.com). Steve Harmon is a 16 year old boy on trial for felony murder and he gets sent to an adult prison which is what Walter is trying to get us to think about, Whether it’s fair if Steve or any other minor should be in an adult prison at 16 years of age. The quote “The best time to cry is at night” that Walter had used at the start of the novel writing in Steve’s own words from inside the adult prison is to show the audience that it is not a nice nor safe place in there. This is because Steve was pointing out that if you made a noise in there or if anyone heard you crying they would immediately put all attention onto you as they would take you as a ‘whimp’.
In most juvenile homicide cases, they are automatically put into the adult justice system for committing the adult-like crime. Some of these children are receiving punishments such as life in prison, even life in prison without parole. Although, the kids may have committed the “adult” crime it is unethical for youths to be tried as adults. Youths should not be tried as adults because they are too young to understand the adult criminal court and could receive cruelty from the state penitentiaries. Also, instead of sending the juveniles
A father tried to have his daughter released by the Philadelphia House of Refuge. A presiding judge rejected a trial by jury. The father tried to get parental control of the child, but was rejected by a higher court. The father’s claim was that parental control was “exclusive, natural, and proper.” (Patton & Cornell 2003). They upheld that the state has the power to make necessary reforms and restraints in order to protect children from things such as their environment, or even themselves.
I do think that courts should consider other factors, like the severity of the crime, the juvenile's previous criminal record and their upbringing, before determining if they should be tried as an adult. But, it should still be the goal of the court system to attempt to educate juveniles, rather than throwing in the towel at the first sign of violence, and sending them to prison with even more violent, hardened criminals. Some say that children who commit adult crimes such as murder should be tried as adults. Then you should be tried as an adult no matter your age. If you take a life from one you should suffer the same punishment if your 15 or if your 43.
Do the courts take into effect the juvenile’s history and home life? There are approximately 2,600 inmates serving life without parole for committing crimes as juveniles (JLC, 2012). Statistics state that this large number of inmates it makes me think about what type of crimes they committed to receive such a punishment. Do these juvenile’s now adults think that because they have no possibility of parole means they should be rehabilitated since they are never getting out of prison? It’s sad to think that these juveniles could turn their life around and possibly be model citizens once back out in the population.
Which comes in, why kids shouldn’t be try as an adult. Most of us teens act pretty much like kids when were still 15-17 years old. In Adam Liptak’s article “Supreme Court to Rule on Executing Young Killers” published in The New York Times quotes “And jurors may not necessarily accept expert testimony concerning recent research showing that the adolescent brain is not fully developed”. Jurors have to accept the fact that teens brains aren’t develop and still may act like little kids. Also the fact that teens are so rough towards one another there brains aren’t thinking on what can happen if there physical towards people violently.
This bill will protect an innocent life from being murdered. If anyone convicted of child homicide can get up to 30 years in prison. This bill has passed the house but later died in a senate committee and said it was disrespectful to try and push it into a law. Adrienne Wooten said the government should not interfere with the decisions of a mother and father (1). One might read this article and say it is not very effective.
The new generation of reformers went beyond rejecting the paternalistic characterization of young offenders; some advocates for tough policies seemed to view juveniles involved in crime as more culpable and dangerous than adult criminals. The rehabilitative model of juvenile justice seemingly thrived during the first half of the twentieth century, but it began to unravel during the 1960s. Youth advocates challenged the constitutionality of informal delinquency proceedings, and in 1967, the Supreme Court agreed holding in In re Gault, that youths in juvenile court have a right to an attorney and other protections that criminal defendant’s